Yes’ Jon Anderson: “Punk didn’t affect us. I was a punk, The Who and The Kinks were punks, so there was always punk music”

Yes take us through the making of their classic albums in the new issue of Uncut, dated September 2014, and out now.

Yes take us through the making of their classic albums in the new issue of Uncut, dated September 2014, and out now.

Jon Anderson, Chris Squire, Steve Howe and Alan White discuss the out-there recordings of nine albums, including their self-titled debut, Close To The Edge, Tales From Topographic Oceans and 90125, as well as the group’s new album, Heaven & Earth.

“Did punk affect us?” says Jon Anderson, recalling the background to 1978’s Tormato. “Not really. I was a punk, James Cagney was a punk, The Who and The Kinks were punks, so there was always punk music.

“But when you get bands getting up onstage who can’t even play, and they just do crazy things to the audience, that’s what I call not real.”

The new Uncut is out now.

Visit our dedicated features section, with plenty of our best long pieces archived there. You can find it here.

Uncut is now available as a digital edition! Download here on your iPad/iPhone and here on your Kindle Fire or Nook.